ZOLL AED Plus Wins First Place In Prestigious Design Engineering Awards Program

Wednesday, March 05, 2003 – Chicago, IL and Burlington, MA, – Herbst LaZar Bell, Inc (HLB), an internationally recognized product development firm, and ZOLL Medical Corporation (Nasdaq: ZOLL), a global manufacturer of non-invasive cardiac resuscitation devices, announced that the ZOLL AED Plus automated external defibrillator (AED) has won First Place in the prestigious Product Design and Development 2003 Engineering Awards Program. ZOLL teamed up with HLB to design the ZOLL AED Plus as an easy-to-use device with complete resuscitation guidance capabilities.

Product Design and Development magazine created the annual Engineering Awards program to salute design ideas that “show innovation, creativity, and usefulness to society.” In the December 2002 issue, 50 finalists were featured with a request for readers to send in votes for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards. As a result of this poll, the ZOLL AED Plus was chosen as the 2003 Gold Medal Winner.

According to the design team, the goal of this project was to develop a simple, accessible and inexpensive heart defibrillator – so easy to use that anyone could respond to a potential cardiac event and be guided through critical lifesaving procedures. About 250,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest, according to American Heart Association estimates. The survival interval from collapse to death is typically 10 minutes, with a 10% decrease in survival expectancy with every minute defibrillation is delayed. Delivering a defined electrical pulse or “shock” directly to the heart through the use of a defibrillator can help save a victim of sudden cardiac arrest.

“Only the ZOLL AED Plus defibrillator guides the user through the entire rescue process including CPR, as defined by the American Heart Association's (AHA) lifesaving protocol,” said Anthony Pannozzo, HLB’s Director of Design. “Whether the user is a professional first responder or a layperson, he or she can be confident in the steps necessary to potentially save a victim of sudden cardiac arrest thanks to having a virtual coach in the AED Plus.”

The AED Plus is non-intimidating and intuitive, almost resembling a familiar and comfortable child’s toy, even though it is a highly sophisticated device capable of delivering a 200-joule electric shock, according to the designers. It has a friendly and simple shape, using colors and graphics that help sooth the rescuer and ensure appropriate response. Each pictogram uses color carefully to focus the rescuer on a specific maneuver, and its bright lime-green color makes it easy to locate in an emergency.

“As a result of extensive field research with both first responders and laypeople, important changes were implemented into the final ZOLL AED Plus design,” commented Ward Hamilton, ZOLL’s VP of Marketing. “For example, the lime-green color was in direct response to the recommendation of police officers to use a color bright enough to prevent the possibility of leaving the device behind at an emergency scene.”

By creating a device that focuses on the entire lifesaving effort, ZOLL differentiated its AED from the competition. While other products on the market focus exclusively on the “shocking” function, ZOLL’s AED Plus incorporates audio and visual prompts for the entire rescue process, from checking the victim’s vital signs and calling 911 to proper administration of CPR and defibrillation. Additional unique features include a one-piece pre-connected electrode to avoid potential confusion associated with the more commonly used two separate electrodes; superior biphasic defibrillation for greater efficiency and lower risk to inappropriate currents; and use of cost-effective, everyday lithium batteries. As an added bonus, the AED Plus sells for less than $2,000, or approximately up to half the price of typical AEDs, making it accessible to more people for saving more lives.

HLB provides product design and development consulting services in the medical, consumer, electronic, and industrial marketplaces. HLB offers turnkey innovation and select services in market/user research, industrial design, engineering and prototyping. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston, and LA. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

ZOLL Medical Corporation, headquartered in Burlington, MA, designs, manufactures and markets an integrated line of proprietary, non-invasive resuscitation devices and disposable electrodes. Used by health care professionals to provide both types of cardiac resuscitation—pacing and defibrillation—these products are essential in the emergency treatment of cardiac arrest victims, both inside and outside the hospital. ZOLL also designs and markets software that automates collection and management of both clinical and non-clinical data for emergency medical service providers. ZOLL has operations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Australia, and business partners in all of the world’s major markets. For more information about ZOLL and its products, visit www.zoll.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release, including statements regarding the anticipated development of ZOLL’s business, the intent, belief or current expectations of ZOLL, its directors or its officers, primarily with respect to ZOLL’s business model and future operating performance of ZOLL, including expectations regarding results in future periods, operating performance and contributions to results from ZOLL’s new Public Access Defibrillation product, and other statements contained herein regarding matters that are not historical facts, are “forward-looking” statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the ZOLL’s Annual Report on Form 10-Q filed on February 12, 2003, including the future performance of the direct sales operations, as well as uncertainties regarding the market, acceptance and profitability of the ZOLL AED Plus and M Series CCT, the length and severity of the current economic slowdown and its impact on capital spending budgets, the reduction in overall capital equipment expenditures in the hospital and pre-hospital markets, the impact of governmental budget restraints on the purchase of capital equipment, the impact of the continued war on terrorism, the potential disruption in the transportation industry on ZOLL’s supply chain and product distribution channels, and the desire or ability of other parties to purchase ZOLL’s products.